No. I am in the process of figuring out why she is so thin. Just above 6lbs. I want to substitute some high cal food in the meantime. The vet ran lots of tests but nothing alarming. Thanks for your input.
B***er.I just found out yesterday Evo was bought out by another company and is being discontinued.
Yes food is out all the time. The problem is when her sugar is lowest she’s usually sleeping the day away and not eating to get the nutrients. I did a curve today and it wasn’t so good so I will have to play with the dosage and ask my Vet about switching to ProZinc which I heard is gentler. She has huge dives and they don’t last long enough for any calories to get absorbed. Today I heated her food which she loved and I got her to eat when her peak time was and then she vomited it all up... she had a vomiting spell a few weeks ago and had a sensitive stomach. I bought kitten food today to start mixing with her food but it has milk product in it which i am
Hi,
BOpe. Haven’t tested her since then due to other issues like her vomiting A UTI, and mypersonal schedule. I did a curve today. This is what it looks like.
I won't pretend to be a pro (exp w/ Vetsulin - I used once only) but the curve you've posted isn't bad at all..really...
I really, really doubt - the Hill's is good... Open a new thread soliciting opinions on it - and then you'll decide. I honestly think it's not good for cats. But it's up to you, of course.
Vetsulin is well known to steep dives - so might be Proz.. Lantus or Levemir, the long acting, the depot style insulin might be better for getting flat-ish, gradual curves, but are by far more expensive in the US...
I attach the 2017 chart - with Tiki Cat in - by Dr. Pierson.
Well, that makes perfect sense! Ask your vet also to check for a ketones presence in her urine - there shouldn't be any extra charge for that!
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Iams discontinued MaxCal last year. ER vet I went to was very bummed out about that.
It never rains ...Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Iams discontinued MaxCal last year. ER vet I went to was very bummed out about that.
I got Blue Wilderness from petco but I did have these on my list as well. Thanks !Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Iams discontinued MaxCal last year. ER vet I went to was very bummed out about that.
Low carb/higher calorie foods include Wellness Core Chicken/Turkey/Chicken Liver, Weruva Glam N Punk, a lot of the Wild Calling brands. Just to name a few in the W's. For my money, I found raw food has more calories per volume than most wet foods.
@Jena4277 -
You're spot on about the Vetsulin. While some cats can do OK on it (and some even achieve remission), it most typically produces the bucket-shaped glucose curve with steep drops that can make safe dosing really tricky and also steep climbs that leave a kitty poorly-regulated the rest of each cycle. I had the same issue with Saoirse.
Switching to an insulin with longer duration in cats (e.g. Lantus, Levemir, Prozinc) is a smart move.
I note from one of your posts above that Abby is very sleepy when the Vetsulin is at peak effect. Saoirse experienced similar on this insulin (branded Caninsulin in the UK). She was out of it for 9-10 hours of each cycle, only perking up as the dose wore off. This lethargy (and also lack of sociability) disappeared after I switched her to Lantus. I think the wild, fast swings in BG typical of Caninsulin/Vetsulin were making her feel dreadful. She actually started hiding in the most inaccessible place she could find when it was time for her Caninsulin injection, but she never tried to avoid her Lantus jabs and she went back to being a happy kitty again. Maybe Abby might be less sleepy when she gets onto an insulin that agrees with her better. I hope so.
Mogs
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Thank you for responding! What about a different brand? I am desperately trying to get the weight on her. It's odd though, even though she is so thin, she likes to lie in the bay window in front of the one I keep cracked. If I close it, she gets annoyed with me. You'd think she would be cold with these crazy temps we've been having.
Does Abby exhibit any signs of nausea? Helpful info here:
Thanks. Yes she is known to vomit.
Is this advice coming from your vet? Has Abby been officially diagnosed with kidney insufficiency/chronic kidney disease? The reasons I ask this are two-fold:
Great! I'm assuming you've had a Spec fPL test done and maybe an ultrasound? What were the results/findings?
She vomited three times today and ate practically nothing. I will call vet for nausea med and appetite stimulant. I am just switching her diet now and she is not eating it. I put some old food mixed in with new and she still does not go for it. If anything she licks like five times and doesn’t return. The only other possibility on that list is a thyroid problem as she is teetering on the edge of that as well. The amount of food that I am putting down the drain is so much money. I have tried sprinkling cheese, mixing some chicken broth, heating it up, and she wants to eat I can tell but smacks her lips sniffs and walks away. She is going to the water bowl instead of the food bowl. She must be dehydrated.
These are classic clinical signs of nausea.
If you have ketone strips at home, get a urine test ASAP. If not either get some ketone strips and test her at home in the morning or get her to the vet for testing there. This is doubly important because Abby has a history of DKA. Cats who've developed ketone problems in the past are typically more prone to them going forward. Indeed, if Abby were mine I'd probably prefer to have the vet give her a physical exam tomorrow to check for any possible infections or other issues (again as a protective measure against potential DKA) and also to make sure she's got no problems with bowel obstruction or constipation (the latter being another cause of nausea/inappetence but may need a couple of doses of metoclopramide (aka Reglan) to help restore normal gut motility before regular anti-nausea/appy stimulant meds will be effective).
Thank you for your reply. The vet just did a urine test and the results were that there was still some underlying bacteria from UTI so she’s on two more weeks of meds. He said very small amount of bacteria. She’s not constipated because she pooped twice today very substantial probably due to the change in diet that she had been eating more yesterday. She has been pooping normally and the vet did check for bowel obstructions on the last visit. I just had a cry session because this is overwhelming, and it’s always something new with her. I am definitely calling tomorrow to get the supplements. Thanks.
Also I did give a reduced amount of insulin because at 1 o’clock her sugar was 320 and just an hour ago when I tested it was 420. Her stomach is making gurgle noises poor thing. I just hope the vet is open tomorrow bc of this huge blizzard we got here in the northeast. I will also check for ketones and the vet did mention sugar in the urine which is not uncommon for her but not enough to cause alarm.
The sugar in the urine could possibly be helping to prolong the UTI (feeds the bugs).
Ain't it just. We all understand that feeling so well ...
HiThe sugar in the urine could possibly be helping to prolong the UTI (feeds the bugs).
Ain't it just. We all understand that feeling so well ...
I found food/eating/GI issues much harder to deal with than insulin treatment in and of itself.
Fingers and paws crossed that the vet'll be open on the morrow. Keep safe in the extreme weather.
Mogs
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I used Pepcid for my cat ONLY when she vomited clear/ whitey foam on an empty stomach.. Pepcid does not help with being nauseous.. Cerenia, a pet pill available from vets usually does well in combination with Pepcid..(there are also human meds suitable for cats and very effective) It's always good to have anti nausea and appetite stimulant meds in one's meds chest - just in case...
If you can only start a spreadsheet - it'll be so much easier to understand what's going on...
Did you give the reduce dose due to her not eating properly?
1 day at the time is best strategy in most life circumstances..
Hi Jena, I am so very about the hard times and Abby are going thru!
I used Pepcid for my cat ONLY when she vomited clear/ whitey foam on an empty stomach.. Pepcid does not help with being nauseous.. Cerenia, a pet pill available from vets usually does well in combination with Pepcid..(there are also human meds suitable for cats and very effective) It's always good to have anti nausea and appetite stimulant meds in one's meds chest - just in case...
The symptoms as you have described are vaguely remind of a pancreatic flare, have you vet mentioned anything about such possibility?
She had a blood test the first week in dec and her pancreas values were low. Not exactly sure I think in the 200s and i saw the scale for a pancreas problem was like 2,000 so my vet ruled it out. Can a flare happen this quickly?
If you can only start a spreadsheet - it'll be so much easier to understand what's going on...
I stopped bc of a personal choice.
Did you give the reduce dose due to her not eating properly?
I quite understand but too little food + not enough insulin= might bring about very bad side effects, like ketones development.
Yes. I am trying to tackle one thing at a time so if she isnt eating I rather focus on that bc she already weighs only 6lbs.
1 day at the time is best strategy in most life circumstances..
You have us now for support! Let me assure you it's quite a lot!
I'd start a SS - and enter in there every reading you have done so far, include the food given and at what time and amounts in the Remark section of the SS. This way we all can put our heads together and think that thing over.
I could never got my SS running - someone here set it up for me and taught me how to use it - please let us know if you need help with it.
Check with your vet. I suggest asking them to email you a copy of the tests done. (You're entitled to ask for copies of results.)
yes I have ketone strips that show trace ketones. It has never been above that.
thanks for the info , Jena! Any chance you'll update the SS to 2018, please?
thanks for the info , Jena! Any chance you'll update the SS to 2018, please?
ketones are not good and the reduced eating +reduced insulin dose might have contributed. You may really want to get on top/ tight control over the eating and dosing to avoid DKA.
My girl had ketones - no fun and too $$$ if let unattended.
Easier to address at home - reasonably aggressively.
I meant recording all of the BG reading into a Speread Sheet (SS) and let us mull over it... Then an idea might spring out as to what is the best way to proceed.
She just had her first dose of ProZinc btw. Is there any more I can add to this mix
Of course is it complex... Very much so.It is always very complicated in the beginning.She just had her first dose of ProZinc btw. Is there any more I can add to this mix
Please believe me I know too well the frustration you are finding yourself in now...
Hi Amy and welcome to you and your kitty.
I know..I've been there.
I meant recording all of the BG reading into a Speread Sheet (SS) and let us mull over it... Then an idea might spring out as to what is the best way to proceed.
If I can have a look at a sequence of the BG numbers throughout the last days + if I'd known what Abby has eaten at those test's times+ I'd known the current dose+ I'd known the ketone's test reading = I might be off better, the more practical help to you both than I am now.
By aggressive I meant testing - posting in the SS, testing - posting, etc.
It is always very complicated in the begging.
And it is not.
PS. Have you tried grating a bit of a Parmesan cheese on to her foods?
It stimulates a lot of cats to eat..
A powdered version will do just fine, too - very little at a time, though..
OK, let's split the problem into two smaller tasks: one is that you are getting meds/ or RX for meds from the vet.Nothing to do but wait;
I have tried pill pockets, no success. For Pepcid I gave today I had to grind it and inject it in her mouth with water in syringe. I don’t mind doing it by mouth as long as I can grind it without messing with nature of med. Thanks for your suggestion.